A creative and enjoyable rendering of a familiar mythological tale.
A novel offers a literary reimagining of the Greek myth of Persephone and the way she becomes a pawn in a war fought among the gods.
In 1694 B.C.E., Kore is the daughter of Demeter, the high priestess of Knossos, destined to follow in her mother’s footsteps and live the holy life. She is also the offspring of the god Zeus, “the Liberator, King of Kings,” and she runs away from home to find him in Olympus. Only 16 years old, she boards a cargo ship bound for Pylos, but the vessel is overtaken by a massive wave that hurls it into Cape Matapan; Kore survives, though most of the crew members do not. Meanwhile, Knossos is all but destroyed by a catastrophic earthquake, and before realizing Kore has fled, Demeter anxiously searches for her in the rubble that remains in the wake of the disaster. When Hades, the high king of Erebus, known as “the Unseen” and the “Dark Zeus,” learns of Kore’s existence, he sees an opportunity to gain leverage within an internecine conflict among the gods, a “standoff between kings.” Hades longs to bring Alcides, now known as Heracles, to justice for terrible crimes, but he is the son of Zeus and falls under his protection. Hades realizes that possessing Kore—rechristened Persephone by Poseidon—is a considerable bargaining chip.
In this first volume of a trilogy, Brillhart digs deep into the mythological tale, inventively exploiting the novelistic opportunity contained in the hollows of the story’s tradition. The author’s command of the mythology is magisterial—she deftly weaves together a tale that revolves around the commerce between gods and humans as well as a brewing civil war among the immortals. And Kore is a beguiling character—somehow both childishly innocent and profoundly dark, a complex mélange of compellingly contradictory attributes. Moreover, Brillhart puts real flesh on the skeleton of a story most only know partially—Hades is more than the lord of the underworld; he is a figure capable of longing, fear, and pride. Unfortunately, the plot ambles at an unhurried, even languid pace, its longueurs threatening the patience of readers. In addition, the prose often lacks buoyancy and nimbleness. One can’t criticize the author too severely for the tale’s humorlessness—literary comedy is a rare gift—but her ponderous writing at times makes the book feel like an official pronouncement by some key authority. Even physical descriptions can be extravagant; consider this account of Kore: “First, the daughter of Zeus. Sun-bronzed hair, twisted into a coil and draped over one sleek shoulder. Skin the same shade of bronze. The white silk of her chiton pulls taut across large, round breasts and tighter at hips that swell from a gold-roped waist as small around as his thigh.” Still, Brillhart’s stylistic vices do not ultimately undermine the power of the story to thoughtfully entertain.
A creative and enjoyable rendering of a familiar mythological tale.Pub Date: July 21, 2022
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 452
Publisher: Ferryman Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A tender and moving portrait about the transcendent power of art and friendship.
An artwork’s value grows if you understand the stories of the people who inspired it.
Never in her wildest dreams would foster kid Louisa dream of meeting C. Jat, the famous painter of The One of the Sea, which depicts a group of young teens on a pier on a hot summer’s day. But in Backman’s latest, that’s just what happens—an unexpected (but not unbelievable) set of circumstances causes their paths to collide right before the dying 39-year-old artist’s departure from the world. One of his final acts is to bequeath that painting to Louisa, who has endured a string of violent foster homes since her mother abandoned her as a child. Selling the painting will change her life—but can she do it? Before deciding, she accompanies Ted, one of the artist’s close friends and one of the young teens captured in that celebrated painting, on a train journey to take the artist’s ashes to his hometown. She wants to know all about the painting, which launched Jat’s career at age 14, and the circle of beloved friends who inspired it. The bestselling author of A Man Called Ove (2014) and other novels, Backman gives us a heartwarming story about how these friends, set adrift by the violence and unhappiness of their homes, found each other and created a new definition of family. “You think you’re alone,” one character explains, “but there are others like you, people who stand in front of white walls and blank paper and only see magical things. One day one of them will recognize you and call out: ‘You’re one of us!’” As Ted tells stories about his friends—how Jat doubted his talents but found a champion in fiery Joar, who took on every bully to defend him; how Ali brought an excitement to their circle that was “like a blinding light, like a heart attack”—Louisa recognizes herself as a kindred soul and feels a calling to realize her own artistic gifts. What she decides to do with the painting is part of a caper worthy of the stories that Ted tells her. The novel is humorous, poignant, and always life-affirming, even when describing the bleakness of the teens’ early lives. “Art is a fragile magic, just like love,” as someone tells Louisa, “and that’s humanity’s only defense against death.”
A tender and moving portrait about the transcendent power of art and friendship.Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9781982112820
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2025
Uneven but fitfully amusing.
Betrayed by her husband, a severely depressed young woman gets drawn into the over-the-top festivities at a lavish wedding.
Phoebe Stone, who teaches English literature at a St. Louis college, is plotting her own demise. Her husband, Matt, has left her for another woman, and Phoebe is taking it hard. Indeed, she's determined just where and how she will end it all: at an oceanfront hotel in Newport, where she will lie on a king-sized canopy bed and take a bottle of her cat’s painkillers. At the hotel, Phoebe meets bride-to-be Lila, a headstrong rich girl presiding over her own extravagant six-day wedding celebration. Lila thought she had booked every room in the hotel, and learning of Phoebe's suicidal intentions, she forbids this stray guest from disrupting the nuptials: “No. You definitely can’t kill yourself. This is my wedding week.” After the punchy opening, a grim flashback to the meltdown of Phoebe's marriage temporarily darkens the mood, but things pick up when spoiled Lila interrupts Phoebe's preparations and sweeps her up in the wedding juggernaut. The slide from earnest drama to broad farce is somewhat jarring, but from this point on, Espach crafts an enjoyable—if overstuffed—comedy of manners. When the original maid of honor drops out, Phoebe is persuaded, against her better judgment, to take her place. There’s some fun to be had here: The wedding party—including groom-to-be Gary, a widower, and his 11-year-old daughter—takes surfing lessons; the women in the group have a session with a Sex Woman. But it all goes on too long, and the humor can seem forced, reaching a low point when someone has sex with the vintage wedding car (you don’t want to know the details). Later, when two characters have a meet-cute in a hot tub, readers will guess exactly how the marriage plot resolves.
Uneven but fitfully amusing.Pub Date: July 30, 2024
ISBN: 9781250899576
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: Sept. 13, 2024
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